PELL CITY — St. Clair County’s new probate judge has already made at least one change within his office.The chair.
“I told them we had to have a new chair,” Mike Bowling said Tuesday. “That (old) chair was shot – I think it was here during (former judge) Wallace Wyatt Sr.’s administration.
“They ought to take that thing and frame it and give it to him.”
Whether the chair will be the only thing that changes under Bowling remains to be seen. The 10-year veteran of the St. Clair County Commission was appointed to the probate judge’s office on Friday, and District Judge Phil Seay officially swore him in to the office Tuesday at the county courthouse in Pell City.
“I’m really excited about it,” Bowling said. “I think it’ll be job that’ll never have any boring moments.
“It’s something … I’ve been looking forward to, not just for the last two months, but for several years, to have the opportunity to do.”
Bowling will take over for retired judge Wallace Wyatt Jr., who retired in November following the general election. Wyatt served in the probate office nearly 20 years after succeeding his father, Wallace Sr.
Tuesday was a whirlwind day for Bowling – he presided over the commission meeting in Ashville, his last one before being sworn in.
His fellow commissioners came to praise him.
“I think you were the man for that job,” Commissioner Jimmy Roberts said. “I’ve enjoyed working with you for the last 10 years – it’s been more like family than a working relationship.
“A probate judge has got to make some wise decisions, but I think you can make them.”
Bowling counts Commissioners Paul Manning and Jeff Brown as longtime friends, and both were complimentary of him on Tuesday.
“It’s been a pleasure to serve with Mike,” Manning said. “He’s always done what’s right for the county.”
“Mike and I go back a long way,” said Brown. “We’ve had a lot of good times. The bottom line, he hasn’t changed since the third grade. He’s still the same Mike I always knew.
“I hate to see him go.”
Bowling said Tuesday that he hasn’t yet been able to do much at his new job, since his old ones — as commissioner and building inspector in the town of Margaret — have eaten up a good bit of his time.
“I’ve sat in on two adoption hearings,” he said. “It’s been quite interesting. They can be somewhat complicated.
“After I get in here, dig in, have the time with the changeover from my other jobs to this, I haven’t got to spend the time here to get into it like I need to. I just wanted to sit in on it, see what was going on. I’ve enjoyed that part of it so far.”
But he’s ready to go to work, and he starts his new job this morning.
“I like challenges, and I’m ready to start work Wednesday morning to take the challenge,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the last 10 years.
“The people of this county elected me 10 years ago to serve them, to uphold the oath of my office, the duties of my office. I feel like I did, and I’m planning to do the same with this office, not only for the people but for Governor (Bob) Riley giving me the opportunity. I feel like I owe it to him and his administration to do it, because they put a lot of trust in me to do it.”
